EC strikes Italy for TV ads

After years of turning a blind eye toward Italian flaunting of television ad rules, the European Commission has cast its’ steely grey gaze. While Silvio Berlusconi commanded both public and private TV the attitude was, er, nuanced.

European Commission sent a formal letter to the Italian government Tuesday (December 11) demanding respect for rules. In question are rules enshrined in the soon to be updated Television Without Frontiers Directive, which all EU Member States agreed, on quantities of ads on Italian TV. The spokesperson for Info and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding told a Brussels press gaggle Friday (December 7) that an independent study determined that Italian TV broadcasters are not respecting the 12 minute limit rule or the 15 minute break rule or the promotional announcement rule.

Has anybody actually watched Italian terrestrial TV in the last two decades? They don’t have ad breaks. They have program breaks. Does anybody need an explanation for Italians flocking to satellite TV? Did those independent researchers hired by the EC to watch Italian TV to count and time the spots receive hazardous duty pay or post-traumatic stress counseling?

“Broadcasters need advertising and advertisers need broadcasters,” extolled Commissioner Reding, “but we must also have effective consumer protection. What we actually need is responsible advertising.”

Consumer protection is an admirable undertaking. The new Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) directive tackles several television advertising issues that have not been satisfactorily been settled through effective self-regulation initiatives. It boggles the mind that the European Commission believes viewers need to be protected from being irritated by too many ads. Every TV channel director knows that viewers vote with their remote control when ad breaks – and terrible ads – roll on and on, seemingly forever. Ad buyers know this, too.

Italian broadcasters also, apparently, regularly violate the ‘promo’ rule. Station, program or any other ‘self-promotion’ is lumped into the same mire as advertising under EC rules. Who, pray tell, does this protect?

Mind boggling rules notwithstanding, Mrs. Reding is doing the right thing. Italian media laws and the regulator mandated to enforce them have received far less attention in the last decade than laws and regulators in most European Union member countries, certainly less attention than the New Member States. The Commission’s statement alluded to a certain “weakness.” When Sr. Berlusconi ruled everybody flexed, nodded and shrugged.

In case you haven’t noticed, things change. - Michael Hedges December 12, 2007

Keywords:media in Italy, European Commission

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